NCAA Sunday: Wisconsin hangs on

McDermott’s 39-point effort moved him into 13th place on the NCAA’s all-time scoring list, putting him ahead of Larry Bird. Of course Bird did it in just three college seasons, but still -- passing Larry Bird in anything is pretty remarkable.

Here was the three-pointer that moved him ahead of Bird.

St. John’s certainly impressed Creighton head coach Greg McDermott:

With the win, St. John’s moves to 15-9 on the season and 5-6 in conference play. The Red Storm are still very much on the tournament bubble, but beating Creighton will be a big feather in their cap. They travel to Seton Hall on Thursday. The Bluejays (19-4, 9-2) could see a slight drop in their AP ranking, but they have still won 14 of their last 16 games and their tournament picture shouldn’t be affected much by this outcome. They’ll face Butler on the road Thursday.

If you have another explanation, I would love to hear it.

Go ahead and take the letter, Rhode Island. You’re not going to make that shot when you try it.

No one is safe in the Big Ten these days. On Sunday afternoon at the Kohl Center, Wisconsin upset No. 9 Michigan State, 60-58, to pick up the team’s biggest win of the season.

It wasn’t the prettiest of offensive performances on Sunday. The two teams combined to shoot about 41 percent from the floor, with Michigan State going just 5-of-19 from behind the arc. The two squads also made just 18 of 29 from the free throw line.

Jim Boeheim has kept his team motivated, repeatedly telling the media that “undefeated” does not necessarily mean “best team”.

The game airs at 6 p.m. ET on ESPNU.

No. 24 Memphis trailed No. 23 Gonzaga by 11 with 13:42 to go when 6’1 Joe Jackson came up with a play that changed the tone of the game and spurred a Tigers rally.

Texas Tech 65 No. 19 Oklahoma State 61

Smart was immediately issued a technical and walked back to the bench as the ESPNU cameras caught him yelling at the officials and later cursing from the sidelines.

This is not the first time the All-American guard has lost his temper during a game. In January, he kicked a chair out of frustration against West Virginia, though he later apologized. And earlier this week, he vented his frustration to the media and criticized officials over his reputation for flopping.

This is why Bill Walton always tells young big men to “throw it DOWN”.

SMU can’t hide anymore.

The Mustangs dismantled No. 7 Cincinnati on Saturday at Moody Coliseum, 76-55. They led almost the entire night for their third win this season over a ranked team.

Rick Pitino’s son, Ryan Pitino, lost some sort of bet and had to wear a chicken suit at the Indiana, Minnesota game Saturday night. While that sounds novel by word, it’s far more amusing by picture.

Why is Rick taking time off to sit with his chicken-suit-wearing son to watch hoops? His other son, Richard Pitino, is the head coach if the Gophers. Sounds like a regular ole’ brotherly love bet between a basketball family. Not a bad way to go, making your brother a farm animal in “The Barn.”

Just an excellent defensive rotation by Gonzaga right there.

Ejim’s day was impressive even by NBA standards:

The Diesel logged 39 minutes against Boston in March of 2003, scoring 48 points and grabbing 20 rebounds. Ejim played 35 of the 40 minutes in Saturday’s game, matching Shaq’s total and falling just short of his rebound number.

When the game is tied in the final five seconds, the one thing you don’t want to do is let the opposing team drive the ball to the front of the rim.

Michael Qualls, onions.

Knocking down a buzzer-beater isn’t the only way to close out a game.

The win moves Iowa to 7-4 in Big Ten play, inching closer to first-place Michigan State. At 9-1, the Spartans take over sole possession of the top spot from 9-2 Michigan.

The Wildcats halted the Longhorns’ meteoric rise on Saturday, riding Marcus Foster’s career-high 34 points in the win. The freshman Foster hit five threes and every one of his eight two-point attempts in a dominant performance. Texas was riding a seven-game win streak that included wins over Kansas, Baylor and Iowa State. Isaiah Taylor scored a ho-hum 17 points for the Longhorns, shooting just 5-of-14 for the day.

When you are going through a slump, there’s no better cure than an alley-oop.

This isn’t the best weekend for college basketball this season, but there was plenty to keep an eye on today with a couple of early intriguing matchups on the slate.

• Tjarks: San Diego State looks like Final Four contender

When the Bulldogs find their way into FedEx Forum, they will be greeted by a Memphis team that hits the offensive glass hard. Memphis’ offensive rebounding percentage rates as the second-best in the AAC at 36.3 percent. The battle to corral the Memphis misses will be one of the biggest keys to the game, with Gonzaga rates as the best team in the WCC at preventing opponents from grabbing their own misses.

Another thing to watch will be how well the Tigers take care of the ball. Memphis ranks as the best in its conference in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.35:1) and also ranks among the top 10 in the country in assist percentage. The best team in the WCC at stealing the ball is Gonzaga, despite no single player averaging two per game.

The two will battle for control of the pace, with Michigan running at the slower pace (62 possessions per game) and Iowa playing at a faster pace than any B1G team (70 possessions per game). Slowing down the pace hasn’t hurt Michigan in the least offensively; the Wolverines have the most efficient offense in the B1G, scoring 1.17 points per possession in conference play.

Mighigan’s offensive efficiency can be sourced to shot-making. As a team, UM is hitting over half of its attempts from the field. Its eFG% is best in the conference, 58.4 percent, by no small margin with Michigan State coming in second at 52.4 percent.

Jay Wright hit the 400 career win mark as his Wildcats easily handled the Pirates of Seton Hall. It was the 10th win in 11 games for the Wildcats, with the only loss coming to conference co-leader Creighton.

Villanova is in action next at 8 p.m. ET on Wednesday on the road against DePaul

Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, the talented freshman wing who replaced Ashley in the starting line-up, had 14 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and two blocks. At 6’7, 215 pounds, RHJ is one of the most physically-gifted players in the country. He’s a guy who could end up in the lottery one day.

Oregon spent a lot of the game in a zone, conceding the outside shot and daring the Wildcats to beat them from the perimeter. TJ McConnell and Nick Johnson combined to go 2-11 from three and they are supposed to be Arizona’s designated shooters in this line-up.